DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released the 2018 NCAA Division II National Players of the Week awards for the week ending on March 19. Delta State senior first baseman Zack Shannon is the National Hitter of the Week, while Concordia-St. Paul junior pitcher Josh Gaworski is the National Pitcher of the Week.

Shannon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC), helped the Statesmen to a 3-0 week, including a doubleheader sweep of West Alabama. Shannon hit three-run home runs in the first and second innings to help the Statesmen off to a 6-0 lead en route to a 15-0 win over Harding. He hit a solo home run in the first inning and had a two-RBI triple in the third inning in a 7-6 game one win over UWA. Shannon's solo home run gave DSU a 3-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 win over UWA in game two. This is the third time this season that Shannon has been named GSC Player of the Week.

Gaworski (Shoreview, Minn.) threw the second no-hitter in Division II history for Concordia-St. Paul in a 15-0 win in game three over Minnesota-Crookston. He tied for third-most in single-game history in the DII-era at CSP with 14 strikeouts while walking just two. Gaworski moves to 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA to go along with a .053 batting average through his first two starts at CSP. His no-hitter comes one year to the day after Gus Varland threw the first no-hitter of the DII era at Concordia.

Division II Regional Players of the Week:
• Atlantic: Christian Porterfield, Slippery Rock (Hitter); Gabe Mosser, Shippensburg (Pitcher)
• Central: Taylor Avila, Central Oklahoma (Hitter); Josh Gaworski, Concordia-St. Paul (Pitcher)
• East: Daren Grabowski, Bridgeport (Hitter); Frankie Moscatiello, St. Thomas Aquinas (Pitcher)
• Midwest: Steven Ring, Hillsdale (Hitter); Tyler Jandron, Northwood (Pitcher)
• South: Zack Shannon, Delta State (Hitter); Keven Pimentel, Tampa (Pitcher)
• South Central: Walter Pennington, Colorado School of Mines (Hitter); Javon Rigsby, Arkansas-Fort Smith (Pitcher)
• Southeast: Zack Goble, Augusta (Hitter); Kolton Ingram, Columbus State (Pitcher)
• West: Drew Cowley, Cal Poly Pomona (Hitter); Isaiah Carranza, Azusa Pacific (Pitcher)

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Howser Award Player of the Year, Regional Player of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors preseason All-America awards, publication and writing contests.

2018 NCBWA Division II Players of the Week:
• Week ending Feb. 19: Austin Norman, Fairmont State (Hitter); Dillon Cate, Carson-Newman (Pitcher)
• Week ending Feb. 26: Chance Bowden, Catawba (Hitter); Jumpei Akanuma, Lee University (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 5: Andrew Taft, LeMoyne (Hitter); Dan Wirchansky, Pace (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 12: Francisco Rodriguez, Tarleton State (Hitter); Kyle Leahy, Colorado Mesa (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 19: Zack Shannon, Delta State (Hitter); Josh Gaworski, Concordia-St. Paul (Pitcher)
• Week ending March 26: Nick Atkinson, Shepherd (Hitter); Adam Riggleman, Glenville State (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 2: Matt Honeycutt, Mars Hill (Hitter); Dalton Morrow, Southwest Baptist (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 9: Mikey Gangwish, Colorado School of Mines (Hitter); Kyle Flessner, Purdue Northwest (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 16: Ted DeSanti, Indiana, Pa. (Hitter); Ryan Murphy, LeMoyne (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 23: Griffin Baker, Belmont Abbey (Hitter); Clay Casey, Delta State (Pitcher)
• Week ending April 30: Mondesi Gutierrez, Northwest Missouri State (Hitter); Grant Wolfram, Davenport (Pitcher)